To Protect the Protector
by CaliaDragon
Summary: Xander's life is twisted to suit the needs of another.


Title: To Protect the Protector

Author: Caliadragon

Fandom: Buffy/CSI: Miami

Category: AU, Crossover

Warnings: Non-Con, Time Manipulation, Slash, Het, Piercing, Language, Violence

Part: 1/1

Series: 1st in the Protector Series

Beta: Queen Sereya

Archive: Any list I send it to, those with prior permission, Imagine, BC, WwOMB, and TTH.

Feedback: On List or at

Disclaimer: No one here is mine, yes this hurts my feelings.

Summary: Xander's life is twisted to suit the needs of another.

Waking up in padded cuffs was a new thing for him, usually when he was kidnapped he was it duck tape, ropes, and painful chains. Being naked was also a new thing, he moved slightly and looked down his body. He had padded cuffs around both ankles, his body hair was gone, and his body gleamed with lightly smelling oil. The most most confusing and alarming revelation though was that someone had pierced his nipples and his belly button.

The last thing he remembered was going to meet his newest slayer at a small ethnic shop in the Cuban section of Miami. She was the youngest sister of a local witch and an elder bruja. He could tell he was lying on a hard surface, but instead of being cold, there was a warm, soft cloth beneath him.

Xander looked to the left as two women and a man walked into the room. "Why am I naked and chained down?" He asked calmly, though a part of him was worried about what these people had planned for him.

The slayer sniffled and went to him, placing her hand on his chest, just above his heart. "We don't want to hurt you Xander, but we have to do this." The girl, Kara, was nineteen and like all slayers was beautiful and drawn to the one person who seemed to protect and sacrifice for them.

"Then what exactly are you doing and why?" Xander asked her looking beyond her to the two older people.

"Four years ago a man was killed in the line of duty, since his death Miami's protector has lost his way and sunk into violence. He was a man of justice, but the death of his soul mate, and later his wife, and the injury to his friend has left the Protector violent and has placed Miami in a tenuous position. Because of this we have searched for a way to protect our home and people. One spell came to mind and we had all but two ingredients to complete the spell." The woman told him gently her Spanish accent clear in her words.

"Why should that matter to me?" Xander asked, though he had a sinking suspicion he knew what it was.

"We needed the blood and semen of a hellmouth born child turned warrior." The man answered calmly.

"Why not just ask me?" Xander asked angrily.

"We could not take the chance you would say no, now that we have what we need, we cannot take the chance you will stop us. Only you and the three of us and one other will remember the time before the spell was cast. We must keep you here until the spell is complete because it will bind you to the one we are returning." The slayer answered softly. Xander closed his eyes once again and turned away, once again he was being used without his consent to power a spell and once again the hellmouth was coming back to bite him.

Xander didn't look at the three as the spell was enacted, when they reached the pinnacle of the spell, Xander cried out his body shaking and power burning from his body as his very essence was used to bring life to a dead man and reverse time. When the spell ended Xander blacked out.

****

The next time Xander awoke he was dressed and lying in a soft bed, he could still feel his piercings and as he moved he could feel another behind his scrotum, this only made him angrier. He sat up slowly, shivering in the cold air from the air conditioner. He stood, noticing that he was barefoot and walked to the window and looked out. He was still in Miami, but where in Miami? He turned from the window and walked to the far door; opening the door carefully and walked out of the room down a hallway to where he could hear people talking. He stopped when he saw the slayer and the two witches. With them were four other men, a red head and three dark haired men and a beautiful blond woman who also felt like a witch.

Kara jumped to her feet when she saw him and looked at her elders in fear. "Where the fuck am I?" he asked coldly, no longer caring to be polite and nice to any of them, including the slayer. They had violated him and used him and they were going to pay for it one way or another. At that moment all he wanted to do was leave before he killed all of them.

"You are in my home Xander." The blond said gently, swallowing when he turned rage filled eyes on her.

"Did your spell work?" he asked in a clipped tone looking back at the others.

"Yes," the man answered softly.

"Good for you, I'm leaving before I kill you." Xander snarled heading for the door.

"You can't!" the blond cried out.

Xander spun back to face her, "You were part of this!" he snarled stalking towards her, his face a mask of hatred.

The redhead stood and placed himself in front of the blond, "Easy son."

"Fuck you! They raped me and used me for a fucking spell! It's my right to be angry!" Xander snarled at him, not the least bit intimidated. The other three men also stood.

"Calleigh wouldn't do that," the Cuban man denied, ignoring the bit about magick.

"Yet she did, you know what I don't care I'm leaving." Xander snapped at him.

"You can't Xander, you're tied to Speed, if you leave both of you will die. You just have to stay for two weeks, after that you can leave." The blond told him tearfully.

"You _fucking_ bitch! How dare you? _WILLOW!_" he screamed the words. The three witches and the slayer tackled him trying to make him be quiet, if Willow came at his call they would all regret it.

"Calleigh!" The red-haired man called shocked.

"Horatio, I can't explain right now, but you have to help us keep the boy here if he leaves then Speed will die. Please? Please help us?" she begged.

The Cuban man didn't think twice, he moved to help her, while the boy cursed and fought them. Xander bit the person whose hand was over his mouth causing them to pull away, but before he could call for Willow again another hand covered his mouth. He screamed in frustration and renewed his struggles to get free. He managed to get his hands free and struck the first person holding him, but more people moved onto him and his arms were wrenched behind him, causing him to cry out in pain. "Don't hurt him!" Kara cried tearfully as she tried to hold Xander still. Finally Xander was cuffed and pinned to the floor.

"Quickly, Marcus put up a shield so he can't call the Witch!" Calleigh ordered causing Xander to snarl into the hand covering his mouth.

The bruja quickly did as Calleigh ordered and just as Xander bit the hand over his mouth it took hold Xander felt it and snarled, "I'm going to kill all of you!"

"No, Xander, no," Kara cried, "Please we had to do it."

"Who fucking cares? Once again I'm the one sacrificed and used for personal gain. Let me go!" he snarled at her.

"We can't if you leave, Speed will die." Calleigh told him softly.

"Why should I care? Give me one reason why I should care?" Xander demanded as he was lifted and placed in a chair so that he could look at all of them. He smirked meanly when he saw that all of them were mused and bruised, all but the redhead and the scruffy brunette.

"Because he's innocent, because he's a good person, because Horatio needs him. Please if he dies Horatio will loose himself and Marisol will be executed and Eric will get shot in the head! Please, please don't leave?" Calleigh cried brokenly, but Xander was immune to tears he had to many years of watching girls use tears as weapons. These people hurt and used him; he wouldn't be letting it go lightly.

"Would someone please explain what the hell is going on here?" the scruffy man demanded, while wondering at the urge to pull the younger man into his arms.

"Simple your blond friend here and these three used magick to bring some guy named Speed back to life, in the process they took blood and semen from me and four years of my life to reverse time and bring him back. Now they have decided to make it so that I can't call for help." Xander snarled at him.

"Calleigh, why does he keep saying I was dead and you keeping saying I will die?" Speed demanded.

"Because it happened, Speed! You died, your gun malfunctioned and you were killed! Horatio then watched as his wife, Marisol Delko, died from being shot by the Mala Noche, and then Eric was shot in the head. Our lives were falling apart and Horatio was getting more violent. We were going to loose him and Miami was going to fall, we had to do something. Xander had two of the things we needed to complete the spell to bring you back and reverse time. We didn't want to hurt him, but it was the only way. We made sure he was unconscious when it happened and we tried to keep him from being hurt. He can leave in two weeks and you'll both be safe, but until then he has to stay here with you." Calleigh told him seriously, hoping that they would believe her for the sake of Speed and Xander both.

"Magic isn't real!" the older of the brunette men said in frustration.

"No you're right magic isn't real but _magick_ is," Xander said in frustration, they were going to pay for this, he was working to get his hands free of the cuffs and thinking of all of the things Anya and Spike had told him over the years about torture.

"What is the difference?" Eric, the Cuban man, asked while wondering if he really knew Calleigh. Could she have actually done this?

"Magic is preformed by magicians and illusionists. Magick is a power used through spells, rituals, and calling on more powerful beings. Magick like what these four preformed to change time and bring him back." Xander snapped angrily.

"Kid, I have no idea what the hell is going on here, but magick isn't real." Speed snapped. Xander snarled out two words and set the chair Calleigh was in on fire. Kara covered his mouth while the others put the fire out and checked Calleigh for damage.

Xander glared at them and bit Kara hard causing her to yelp and pull her hand away. "Still think magick isn't real?" he sneered, struggling to get free.

"Easy son, I know you are upset, but just calm down." Horatio said gently, placing a strong hand on his shoulder. Looking down in the rage filled brown eyes; Horatio felt something pull at his heart and wondered why he had the urge to kiss the young man.

Xander snarled at him, he was beginning to slip into a feral rage. Then he smirked at them, "D'Hoffryn Lord of all Vengeance, I, Alexander call on you!"

Kara screamed and the three-magick users started chanting spells trying to keep the demon lord from appearing. It did not work; when D'Hoffryn reappeared he raised an eyebrow at the group of humans and one of his favorite mortals in such a state.

"Alexander, what is going on here?" D'Hoffryn asked as he waved a hand and freed the young man. "Why do you appear so young? Who is that Slayer, I thought only the slayers Faith and Buffy were called." D'Hoffryn said in confusion.

"Tap into my mind and into the magick lines running through this plane," Xander ordered still angry and bent on destruction.

D'Hoffryn did as Xander ordered and was shocked by what he saw. "Oh dear, Hecate you'd best come here my dear." The elder demon ordered. When the Goddess appeared Xander bowed to her and so did Calleigh.

"We gave them the spell Alexander." Hecate told him gently. Xander looked up at her furiously.

"What?" he demanded his dark eyes cold and full of rage.

"I'm sorry my dear, but had that time line continued within three years a massive war with the demons would have happened and this plane would have been obliterated. By casting this spell we have been able to make several changes. One being that there will be no Key and Glory is already dead." Hecate told him.

"So you just take Dawn away like she was nothing?" Xander demanded angrily, "If you can change time then you can give Dawn back!" he snarled enraged by yet another chess move by the so called Light.

Hecate narrowed her eyes, while D'Hoffryn did as the young man requested. "Dawn has once again been placed in the Slayer's life." The Demon Lord told him gently.

"Thank you D'Hoffryn. Can you go to Anya and explain to her what has happened. I think it would be better coming from you. She would be ignored by the others and I… I really missed her." Xander asked him tearfully his remembered grief muting his rage.

"I will do better than that my boy, I will be right back." He told him before disappearing. When he reappeared seconds later Anya was with him. Xander pulled her into his arms and kissed her happily.

Anya pulled away from her friend and looked around her, wondering what these people had done to her sweet boy. "Xander what is going on?" she asked calmly. The group had just finished defeating the Initiative and Xander was still smarting from the pain those girls he called friends inflicted upon him. Xander scowled at the group of humans and Hecate and let D'Hoffryn share what had happened with Anya. The ex-demoness snarled and stood walking over to Calleigh and punching her, she then turned on the other three inflicting pain on each of them, including the selfish slayer. The demon lord and the goddess made sure that the men could not interfere.

Once she was sure they were bleeding she went back to Xander and sat on his lap, cuddling and calming her friend. No one deserved to be used for such a spell; it was only because she was a goddess that Hecate wasn't bleeding on the floor. Though what she had seen of her and Xander's future she knew that they had to remain friends. Xander did not deserve to be played by her old enemies and friends. She would protect him as he had protected and guided her in this time.

Anya decided it was time for her to stop talking of the men she tortured and start teaching Xander the things she had learned over her lifetime. She turned to her Lord and smiled. "D'Hoffryn Xander and I will be settling here, can you please help me get us settled in this place. The witches preformed the spell wrong. Xander is not temporarily tied to the mortal; he is permanently tied to him. Soon they will feel the need to have orgasms together. I of course will not ask for vengeance since this was the intervention of Hecate. I will teach Xander what I know and act as his protector; it is time to embrace my past and my magick gifts."

D'Hoffryn chuckled, he knew what his child planned and he approved, it was time she embraced a new future. He made sure she was imbued with her powers again, without the aspect of vengeance, so that she could protect Alexander. She had seen what he had seen. Off the hellmouth Xander had been even more hunted than before. Both the dark and the light would want him as he knew too many of their plans and could easily stop them from happening. Vengeance demons had no cause to worry. Xander didn't have to stop them and most of the demons didn't work where he was going to be near because something about the boy warped their powers and gifts. That and he made vengeance demons want to either have sex with him or cuddle him.

"I do believe that can be arranged my dear. Hecate it would behoove you and your kind to help protect this boy since it was your interference that made him a mate to the two mortals." D'Hoffryn said glaring at the Goddess of Magick.

Anya and Xander looked at him sharply, "Two mortals?" Anya asked coldly, glaring at the elder goddess.

"Yes, Alexander is now tied to Horatio Caine and Timothy Speedle." D'Hoffryn confirmed.

"HECATE YOU BITCH!" A voice roared from around them, Xander and Anya hid behind D'Hoffryn immediately. They had no idea who was pissed, but they felt the power of the man as he arrived. Upon seeing their reactions, the others dove for cover taking their doubting friends with them.

"Janus," Hecate said coolly.

"Why have you been messing about with my mortal?" the chaos god growled.

Xander and Anya both sighed and D'Hoffryn shook his head in exasperation.

"Alexander has never sworn allegiance to you Chaos," D'Hoffryn said sharply, his anger at the gods playing with his favored mortal making itself known. "You used him to power yourself after tapping into his potential on a Halloween he still does not like to remember. If anything he curses your name."

"No, he is mine!" Janus roared, stomping his foot like a petulant child.

"Enough, he is not yours or Hecate's, he has sworn no allegiance to any of the elder gods. The only gods he has personally given any tribute to are Coyote, and that was in thanks for removing the curses he placed upon him, as well as to Poseidon praying for the safety of the swim team. While in Africa he prayed to Oxossi, God of the Hunt. You have no claim on him and no right to mettle in his life." D'Hoffryn said solemnly to the two bickering deities. Both Hecate and Janus sneered at the demon and left to argue more about who had the right to mess about in Xander's life.

Anya patted Xander's back as her friend shook his head in disbelief. While the gods and the demon lord had been fighting, the other mortals were staring at Xander in confusion and fear from their hiding spots. When the gods disappeared the humans went back to where they were before the pair arrived.

Calleigh was nursing her bruised jaw and cringed with Anya turned to look at her, she saw pain and rage in the demoness' eyes. Horatio was baffled and so was Speed, this was beyond what they were accustomed to. John Hagen was devastated, what he thought he knew of Calleigh was a lie. Eric was shocked and outraged that Calleigh would use another human for her gain, while at the same trying to get over the fact that Gods and Demons were arriving in front of him.

Anya looked at Xander and shared her thoughts on all of the people in the room as well as what she had picked up from Hagen. Xander gave her a wicked grin and Anya giggled before walking over to Hagen. "Since your girlfriend cost me my snuggly one, your mine now." Normally this would have hurt Xander, but he had four years to mourn losing Anya, and now thanks to magick he was bound to two men.

John stared at her in confusion, he opened his mouth to say something and Anya took advantage of the fact to kiss him. When she pulled away John was flustered. "You and I are going to have fun." Anya told him cheerfully. She learned from what she saw in Xander's mind and was going to be a good girlfriend to her new boyfriend.

Xander snorted in humor, leave it to Anya to give her own spin to things. Eric cleared his throat and looked at Xander for a moment before speaking. "What did he mean by you being tied to H and Speed?"

"Just what it sounded like, my life is tied to theirs, if they die so do I. Thanks to their spell I now belong to those two." Xander said grimly turning to glare at the magick users and the slayer.

A roll of power rushed through the room and Willow was suddenly there, she moved to Xander and hugged him tight, she then turned to look behind her and with a cry of joy pulled Anya into her arms pressing kisses to the older woman's face. When she pulled away Anya and Xander looked at her in confusion. "Willow?" Xander asked.

"I remember the other timeline, the magick that I sucked up over the years made it so that my mind can not be played with. Oh Xander, their all alive! Tara, Joyce, Cordy, Wes, Gunn, all of them." Willow babbled out hugging him again. Xander sank into a chair a look of shock on his face. He put his hands in his head and moaned, he hadn't thought about that part. It hadn't really set in that all of those they had lost would be returned, he knew Anya was back, but he hadn't thought of the others. "Why did this happen, how did it happen?" Willow asked leaning down placing her hand on his arm.

"Another self-serving group used him for their own gains," Anya said calmly, carefully.

Willow looked at her in confusion and trepidation. "What do you mean?" She asked in a near whisper, her eyes full of dread.

Anya and Xander told her what the magick users, the Goddess, and the slayer had done to Xander. By the time they were finished Willow was looking at Xander in horror and shock. She growled softly, "NO! This isn't right, I promised to never let anyone hurt you again and I failed again!" Willow said tearfully, she stood spinning to face the four humans responsible for this and balled her fists up in rage.

The trio of magick users pushed Kara behind them and looked at Willow in fear. Even with their combined power they would never be able to stop Willow if they she attacked them. Willow was literally a goddess now because of all of the magick she had sucked up over the years.

"Willow," Xander called gently, breaking her destructive mood.

Willow turned to face him and then rushed into his outstretched arms. "Go back to the hellmouth, protect our friends, use the spell you used in Cleveland and close the hellmouth for good. Take everyone and go to LA and help Deadboy and the Fang Gang. Save Doyle from the demon Nazi's so that you can save Cordy from being killed by the Powers." Xander ordered her gently.

"What about you and Anya?" Willow asked in a tear clogged voice.

"I will take care of Xander; D'Hoffryn has returned my powers without the dark and vengeance aspects. I will teach him all I know and protect him from the ones who will come for him." Anya promised the asperity she usually showed Willow missing from her tone. Like the other three, she could feel Willow's power and the fact that despite the turn of time she still had those powers made Willow an unknown danger. Only Xander and Buffy had any control over this new powerful Willow and even they didn't always rein her in. Buffy used Willow's powers for the Light more than Xander. The Slayer was all for killing those that hurt Xander and had nearly started a civil war in Africa to get Xander free of a group of mercenary slayers.

Willow looked at Anya and nodded, she knew Anya's worth and her dangers and trusted the demoness to do the best for Xander. She could read Anya's intent to help Xander.

"I too am helping Alexander," D'Hoffryn said calmly from where he appeared. Like all demons he feared the young witch. Her power made her dangerous and unpredictable. D'Hoffryn had no intention of angering the White Goddess. Willow was a rarity; only one other human had attained her level in D'Hoffryn's life time. He became a god by great personal sacrifice and by the need for vengeance after his two best friends died for a plan of the Powers. That was in the time of the ancient gods and the man was still a god and traveling the world taking his own version of justice out on the demons and humans alike.

Willow looked at D'Hoffryn and nodded, she remembered the Demon Lord's affection for Xander and his enjoyment of Xander's company, something that used to scare the slayers, but amuse the Scoobies. It was D'Hoffryn that told Willow and Buffy where to find Xander when he was taken by the Slayers and it was D'Hoffryn that killed a clan of Scorpion demons that had decided to sacrifice Xander to a higher power.

Willow turned back to the slayer and the magick users and sneered, "Hurt Xander again and you will wish you were dead." It wasn't much of a threat until you factored in the power Willow possessed. All four paled dramatically. Once she was certain that they were afraid and had taken her threat seriously she turned back to Xander and hugged him, kissing his cheek and then stepping back and disappearing.

"Hecate and I have set you up with a tidy nest egg and a new house just off the beach. There is a pool as well, since I know how much you enjoy the water Alexander." D'Hoffryn told the boy. He would not add that he had called on other powers to control Janus and Hecate, ones that had beaten manners into the pair in the past. No one pissed off the God of War or the Goddess of the Hunt. As a warrior and a protector of the Slayer line Xander fell under their purview whether he had claimed them or not.

Xander and Anya both nodded and then Xander sighed, "What about my tie to those two?" He asked pointing to Speed and Horatio.

"Ah, yes, well they live with you now." D'Hoffryn said with a sweet smile, before disappearing and leaving the mortals gapping at his daughter and his chosen in confusion.

Xander laughed hysterically and then buried his face into his hands. "Oh man."

"Look at it this way Xander; you will get twice the orgasms." Anya told him helpfully, while leering at John. John was confused, horny, but very confused. This had been a bad strange day and only seemed to be getting stranger.

They had come to Calleigh's after shift to figure out if their friend was okay. Calleigh never called in sick, but today she had and she had been acting weird since their arrival. Then the boy, a demon, two supposed gods, and another Witch had shown up, followed by the strange girl who kissed him with more hunger than he had ever experienced before and claimed him as hers.

"Calleigh, I have no idea what to say about this." Horatio said into the silence that followed D'Hoffryn's leaving.

Anya and Xander shared a grimace and sighed, "They were probably manipulated into doing this by Hecate if it helps. I don't know what kind of person she is normally, but by your reaction I'd say this isn't something she would normally do?" Anya asked curtly.

"She's a CSI," Speed answered eyeing the boy.

"So she's a cop, the type of person who would catch rapists?" Xander asked calming down from the rage that had filled him upon his awakening. This was just another move by the powers to ruin his life. If Hecate was telling the truth the spell saved their reality, it didn't change the fact that he was still soul bound to the two older men, but it did go towards forgiving the four for casting the spell on him.

"What did the demon mean by the fact that we live with you now? How exactly are we going to explain that to the bosses?" Speed asked in frustration. Like John he was reeling from the bad strange day that this had become. It didn't help that he really wanted to strip the boy down and lick him all over.

"Simple the spell turned time backwards and brought it to this point, but D'Hoffryn would not allow Xander to suffer for being bound to the two of you so he cast a spell vengeance related. It will hit you as soon as you leave this apartment. Out there everyone believes that gay marriage has been legal since the civil rights movement. He is also going after the Male Noche's who are targeting you. If you die, Xander dies. He may comeback but it is unlikely. Until the two weeks are up you will be careful and not endanger his life." Anya told him coldly.

"This is really freaking me out," Eric said honestly, unable to look at Calleigh without hearing the words the boy spit at them.

"Join the chorus and send out a cry for brotherhood, you ain't the only one. I'm sitting four years in the past with my dead former fiancé on my lap." Xander snapped at the confused Eric, who just blinked at him in shock and then turned to look at Anya who smiled at him sweetly with mischief dancing in her eyes. "My best friend just told me that people I love, lots of them, who have been dead for four and five years, are all alive again. I remember their deaths, their triumphs and their fuck ups and it just started again. Then I found out that I'm bound to two men and want to have sex with them, when until this happened I was totally het. So yeah freaking out is happening in spades."

The other three men looked at him in silent disbelief before turning to look at Calleigh who was blushing painfully. The other three were looking at the floor in embarrassment. The spell had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now in the light of the day it may have been rash. However, like Xander said they were led to the spell and their actions by Hecate and the other Powers.

"What about the whole claiming John thing?" Eric asked baffled by that as much as everything else.

"He's mine, get over it!" Anya snarled, before standing and walking to John to sit in his lap, her dark gaze threatened pain if they tried to take her new snuggly away from her.

Xander snickered again. John just looked down at her in confusion no one had ever threatened violence to keep him before. Anya looked up at him and gave him a wide happy smile, before giving him another of her hungry kisses.

"Well I'm leaving now," Xander said standing and walking to the door. Speed and Horatio were on their feet and after him before he had even made it out the door. Anya sneered at the others and drug John out with her. Eric shrugged at Calleigh and left with the other group. Mystical mess up or not this had changed how he saw Calleigh and he was unsure how to treat her now.

When they reached the hummer, Eric's car, and John's car the group looked at each other for several minutes. John blinked for a moment and looked down at his had as a wedding ring appeared. Memories of his marriage to Anya flittered through his mind. He looked over at Anya again an saw a grin on her face.

Xander was snickering and looking at the ground a blush lighting his face. He had some vivid memories of things that had never happened, including getting caught making out with Speed and Horatio on the beach.

Speed growled low in his throat and shared a look with Horatio. The images in their minds weren't real, but they _felt_ real. For his part feelings for another man were not new to him. He had run to Miami from New York after his father had nearly killed him for falling in love with another man. Now that history had also been changed to fit this new version of the world. He had come to Miami with a lover he had ended up leaving. He and Horatio had been together for four years, while they had just added Xander to their marriage a year earlier after courting him for six months.

Horatio gave Speed a slight smile, for his part he had always wanted Speed, but never made a move because of their situation and because of the views of others that could endanger Speed. Now he didn't have that problem and had the added advantage of having Xander, who he was certain was a virgin. It would be fun to teach the boy what the memories had promised.

Eric closed his eyes and shivered as images not his own took control, unlike the others these visions became his reality, and what he knew before became dreamlike. He saw himself in a relationship with Ryan Wolfe a new addition to the lab, he was a new ME that worked with them along with Alexx. He tried to fight the visions, but a sense of rightness settled over him and a feeling of longing and loss if he kept fighting. Giving into the inevitable Eric nodded goodbye to the others and went to find Ryan and the person who was meant to save him from his own darkest days. 


End file.
